The post-it note is getting full...
May. 21st, 2014 10:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearI keep a list on my desk of all the reviews I have yet to post - and it's getting full!
So, here we go with an attempt to clear it completely.
What Are You Hungry For by Deepak Chopra:
Yes, I know. A self-help book by a guy who talks about wibbly spiritual healing? I deliberately bought this for my phone so that nobody would see me reading it on the train. I also skipped the last couple of chapters when it started getting wibbly.
But... The rest of it was really interesting, and has turned out to be incredibly helpful to me. Yes, I have become one of those people, following steps laid out in a self-help book - and it's working, godammit! I don't know whether to be glad or annoyed about that - though actually yes I do, because it's working, so I'm really glad.
It's all about mindfulness - and it turns out to be true - paying attention to what you eat instead of just guzzling whatever comes to hand when you think you're hungry really does make you more aware of your consumption and your true hunger levels, makes you appreciate what you're eating a whole lot more, and makes it hugely easier to control your food intake on a daily basis.
I have no idea how long the current success will last, but I'm going with it while it does!
Transcendence (some spoilers):
The reviews for this were pretty bad, but Dave decided he wanted to see it anyway, so we went and he hated it.
I, on the other hand, actually quite enjoyed it!
Yes, it was terrible - badly written, nonsensical in so many ways, complete bobbins in terms of plot.
But, on a shallow point - Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy - what's not to like?
Plus, it garnered a very interesting conversation on the walk home from the cinema, and I thought the message it was trying to convey was surprisingly complex in what was essentially a fairly bad film. Instead of going for "intelligent machine is evil and plans to take over the world", there was actually quite a lot of grey. The machine only really wanted to help people, and the only people who died were killed by the "good guys" attacking the machine. Yes, there was a danger from the machine's potential plans. And yes, it couldn't really be reasoned with and probably needed to be stopped. But stopping it was what basically destroyed the world, so who was actually on the right side in the end?
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire:
Half-human, half-fairy private detective gets embroiled in a plot that threatens the very structure of the fairy world.
The biggest problem I had with this book was the heroine, basically because she wasn't.
All she did was endure a cycle of getting in trouble, getting hurt and getting rescued by more powerful allies.
Sure, she was snarky while she did it, but that doesn't make her a strong, independent female character. She personally achieved absolutely nothing, except for getting other people killed. So, I won't be continuing with this series.
Venice Preserved:
This started out with a walk from the Cutty Sark to an empty building on the waterfront opposite Canary Wharf, in the company of cast members dressed up for a carnival. Dave got to wield a flag, and I got offered two slaves and a ride in the Doge's litter. The play then took place in several different locations in and around the building, with the audience moving between them at various stages.
The reviews I've read said that the play was good and the acting excellent (true) but that the staging was a misfire and the audience participation a mistake. I absolutely disagree. I actually found the play a bit dreary, but my interest was maintained by the moving about and interaction and the intriguing way in which various locations within the building were used to evoke different sets. Certainly an interesting experience, and much more enjoyable than it would have been if we'd just sat through the same play in a normal theatre.
Jeeves and Wooster:
Went to see this last night - absolute genius from start to finish.
I loved the breaking of the fourth wall, Wooster's continued amazement at Jeeves' increasingly elaborate sets, the spectacularly fast costume changes, the utter silliness of the whole thing. It was great. Highly recommended.
So, here we go with an attempt to clear it completely.
What Are You Hungry For by Deepak Chopra:
Yes, I know. A self-help book by a guy who talks about wibbly spiritual healing? I deliberately bought this for my phone so that nobody would see me reading it on the train. I also skipped the last couple of chapters when it started getting wibbly.
But... The rest of it was really interesting, and has turned out to be incredibly helpful to me. Yes, I have become one of those people, following steps laid out in a self-help book - and it's working, godammit! I don't know whether to be glad or annoyed about that - though actually yes I do, because it's working, so I'm really glad.
It's all about mindfulness - and it turns out to be true - paying attention to what you eat instead of just guzzling whatever comes to hand when you think you're hungry really does make you more aware of your consumption and your true hunger levels, makes you appreciate what you're eating a whole lot more, and makes it hugely easier to control your food intake on a daily basis.
I have no idea how long the current success will last, but I'm going with it while it does!
Transcendence (some spoilers):
The reviews for this were pretty bad, but Dave decided he wanted to see it anyway, so we went and he hated it.
I, on the other hand, actually quite enjoyed it!
Yes, it was terrible - badly written, nonsensical in so many ways, complete bobbins in terms of plot.
But, on a shallow point - Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy - what's not to like?
Plus, it garnered a very interesting conversation on the walk home from the cinema, and I thought the message it was trying to convey was surprisingly complex in what was essentially a fairly bad film. Instead of going for "intelligent machine is evil and plans to take over the world", there was actually quite a lot of grey. The machine only really wanted to help people, and the only people who died were killed by the "good guys" attacking the machine. Yes, there was a danger from the machine's potential plans. And yes, it couldn't really be reasoned with and probably needed to be stopped. But stopping it was what basically destroyed the world, so who was actually on the right side in the end?
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire:
Half-human, half-fairy private detective gets embroiled in a plot that threatens the very structure of the fairy world.
The biggest problem I had with this book was the heroine, basically because she wasn't.
All she did was endure a cycle of getting in trouble, getting hurt and getting rescued by more powerful allies.
Sure, she was snarky while she did it, but that doesn't make her a strong, independent female character. She personally achieved absolutely nothing, except for getting other people killed. So, I won't be continuing with this series.
Venice Preserved:
This started out with a walk from the Cutty Sark to an empty building on the waterfront opposite Canary Wharf, in the company of cast members dressed up for a carnival. Dave got to wield a flag, and I got offered two slaves and a ride in the Doge's litter. The play then took place in several different locations in and around the building, with the audience moving between them at various stages.
The reviews I've read said that the play was good and the acting excellent (true) but that the staging was a misfire and the audience participation a mistake. I absolutely disagree. I actually found the play a bit dreary, but my interest was maintained by the moving about and interaction and the intriguing way in which various locations within the building were used to evoke different sets. Certainly an interesting experience, and much more enjoyable than it would have been if we'd just sat through the same play in a normal theatre.
Jeeves and Wooster:
Went to see this last night - absolute genius from start to finish.
I loved the breaking of the fourth wall, Wooster's continued amazement at Jeeves' increasingly elaborate sets, the spectacularly fast costume changes, the utter silliness of the whole thing. It was great. Highly recommended.
